CHAPTER 209: CHAPTER 209

"Derrick, what are you doing here? And... are you finally back home?" Mona asked softly, her face calm and strangely warm.

Derrick stood still, blinking slowly as he watched her.

*What game is Mona playing now?* he wondered.

*She doesn’t look angry. She doesn’t even look surprised. Is she really happy to see me?* With an unreadable facial expression, Derrick thought.

He tilted his head slightly, reading her like a book, though a few pages still seemed blurred.

"That’s not the kind of question my beloved wife would ask me if she truly meant it," he said slowly, stepping closer.

His eyes locked on hers. "What are you up to, Mona?"

Mona’s lips curled slightly, not a smirk, not quite a smile.

"I can lie and manipulate many people. I’ve done it easily," she said in a calm voice.

"But it doesn’t work with you. You know me too well, Derrick. You always could read between my words... even when I didn’t speak."

She paused, lowering her eyes for just a second.

*Make him feel needed. Make him feel important. That’s all he ever wanted. If I do that... I’ll get what I need,* Mona thought.

Derrick’s stare darkened.

"What exactly do you want?" His voice was firmer now, colder and sharp like ice.

She looked up at him again, this time with what looked like honesty.

"I want you to return. Take back your seat as alpha. I’ll be your Luna again. I won’t fight you anymore."

"Together, we were untouchable and no one dare come against us, but everything started falling apart when we stopped having each other’s back." Mona said with a hint of sincerity and concern in her voice.

That shocked Derrick for a moment. He didn’t show it, but Mona saw the flicker in his eyes.

He quickly straightened his stance, bringing back his aura of control.

"A few days ago, you wanted me gone for good," he said with a dangerous grin.

"You and your precious council were cooking up schemes to keep me away forever.

Now suddenly, you miss me? Mona... you honestly expect me to believe that?

Mona you should know better than to try deceiving me, I’m too smart for such tactics."

She sighed and stepped a little closer.

"Maybe I was too proud. Maybe I got ahead of myself. But the truth is..." She paused, her voice lowering,

"I still love you. I always have. And the pack... they need you now more than ever, Derrick."

Derrick’s jaw clenched. Her voice soft, sincere, almost vulnerable hit him deeper than he expected.

He didn’t speak. He just stared into her, waiting to see what came next.

*Mona looks very sincere, but she could still be playing games... I need to wait for a crack in her defense.* Derrick thought.

Mona swallowed hard under the weight of his silence.

*Why won’t he say anything? Is he still testing me?*

She looked down briefly before meeting his eyes again.

"If you don’t plan to stay," she asked carefully, "then why are you here? Why now?"

"I came to check on things. That’s all," Derrick replied. His tone was cold and flat, like he had buried all emotion somewhere deep.

"I’ve seen enough," he added.

Just then, loud footsteps echoed from a short distance. A group of guards patrolling the area had caught sight of them. One stepped forward.

"Who are you? Reveal yourself now!" Alvin barked, not recognizing Derrick right away.

Derrick slowly turned his head toward the sound, a sly, dangerous smile forming on his lips.

The moonlight revealed his face fully.

Alvin’s eyes widened, and he dropped to his knees instantly.

"A-alpha Derrick... I didn’t know it was you. Forgive me!"

His voice trembled as he bowed his head low.

*This is what I hate the most...* Mona thought bitterly, watching the scene unfold.

*Everyone so afraid of him. Even Alvin...*

She took a breath, then walked over to stand beside Derrick.

"Alvin, you and your men can go. Alpha Derrick is back."

Alvin shot up in shock, then quickly bowed again and left with the others.

Derrick turned to her sharply.

"And who said I’m back home?" he asked, his voice laced with anger.

Mona didn’t back down.

"Because I want you back. Not as my enemy, but as the alpha.

The real alpha, the one who made people tremble with just a stare. I want him back. We need him now."

Her words wrapped around Derrick like vines. They weren’t just sweet, there was desperation hidden behind each syllable. He heard it. He felt it.

Still, he kept his face unreadable.

*You want me back now because the power is slipping through your fingers. You never change, Mona. But I have.*

He folded his arms slowly.

"You really think I’ll just come running because you say sweet things?" he asked.

"No," she answered quickly. "I think you’ll come back because this pack is falling apart.

Because you built something powerful here, and deep down... you still care."

Derrick exhaled softly.

"Mona, you always knew how to say the right things," he muttered.

*But not this time,* he thought.

He took a step back.

"I’m not the man I used to be. I don’t trust anyone anymore. Especially not you."

Mona looked down.

"I know," she said quietly. "But I’m still asking you to come back. Just think about it."

Derrick’s expression didn’t change. He turned around slowly, casting one last glance over his shoulder.

"When the time is right," he said, "you’ll know what I decide."

Without another word, he walked into the woods. His steps were silent, but his presence remained heavy in the air.

Mona stood frozen, watching him vanish into the trees.

Her heart thudded painfully in her chest. The cool night wind brushed her face, but it didn’t clear the cloud in her mind.

*Please let my words reach you,* she thought. *Please come back before everything burns.*

She clenched her fists and closed her eyes.

*I need you now, Derrick. More than ever.*